Love is the Key

Why would God put so many people on this earth? And why would He put them together only for them to live in disharmony and strife? At times relationships are such that its hard to imagine that anything good could come of them but when we experience the power of love and how it connects us together we then get a glimpse of why were were put on this earth.

In the community of Corinth, Paul saw the incredible life changing power of God's presence. People were living in oppressive and abusive relationships and God freed them by His Spirit putting them in relationships that restored their wholeness and recovered their humanity. You can understand then how sad Paul was to hear that some in the church community of Corinth were still promoting division and contention. If the Spirit is truly in them then the obvious sign is a continual attitude of love where people put each other first.

The reality is that there is no love if love is not evident in our behaviour toward each other. Paul heard from some in the Corinthian church community that people were putting themselves first - puffing up their own sense of pride in what God had done in them and ignoring those less fortunate around them. In fact, at the communal dinner where they celebrated the Lord's Supper, the less fortunate went overlooked as people gorged themselves on food. Paul pointed out that this is not in keeping with the Spirit of Christ and what he is all about. In fact, such behaviour put one in peril of bringing judgment on themselves.

The worst of it all was that when they were together for worship, there was such caios due to worshippers trying to "out do" each other that those inquiring about what they were all about were actually driven away. Rather than being an "accepting" community they were being an "alienating" community. What they were calling "the Spirit" among them was actually their own selfish desire to be acknowledged and recognized above others.

The only way to turn this around is a change in focus. Rather than the focus being on the "self" Paul reminded them that the focus should be on a crucified and resurrected Lord. It is this fact that brings signficance to everyone. In Christ, each person has renewed hope. The Spirit has come alive in them and they live in the hope of what is to come. Paul reminds them, "Who hopes for what he already has." If the end has come, then there is no need for hope but hope is the basis of faith and that hope gives significance to everything we do. Our activity now has the potential to be redeeming and so what we do is not in vain.

What an incredible opportunity God has given us to be a redeeming community where God's Spirit works through us to bring the message of Christ and His resurrection to those who have lost all hope. Paul encourages the Corinthians that if they want to exude excellence in the Spirit then love needs to permeate all they do - the prime expression of every relationship - the natural inclination of every action.

Digging Deeper

For a deeper treatment of Paul's first letter to the Corinthians click on Introduction to Corinthians by Roger Hahn. and Anthony Thiselton's commentary on First Corinthians.